Two Year Old Who Defied The Odds To Walk Inspires Millions

CBS News

A reminder to never give up from Roman Dinkel.

Two-year-old Roman Dinkel was diagnosed with spina bifida, a defect in an embryo's developing spine, after an ultrasound at 20 weeks.

"We just expected to hear the normal things -- this is the size of the head, this is the size of his feet, all those fun things, but what we heard was he had extra fluid on his brain and his spine," Roman's mother Whitney Dinkel said.

Despite the odds, his parents were determined to persevere. Roman had an operation before he was born to increase his chances of being able to walk.

"I had to let him fall a few times so he'd know I wouldn't be there to catch him, and he had to learn how to catch himself," Dinkel said.

Perhaps that's why, when he finally did walk after days of practising, Roman was so excited to show the family dog Maggie what he could do.

Roman's mother was excited, too. She posted the video on Facebook and in just hours, people around the world were sharing in Roman's joy. The family has received non-stop messages since.

Roman Dinkel has inspired people across the globe. Image: CBS

"From random people telling us their story -- how they were depressed, how they were suicidal or how they were going through these medical situations -- and to see that he influenced them in a positive way to change their mindset and change their view it's just so heartwarming,” Dinkel said.

“It feels like he just gave hope to so many people with a seven-second clip."